Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map illustriate the plans about a collage cafe before and after its remodelling ,and elucidate about its major feature and camparisons

The overall design of the cafe stayed intact but with an addition of barbecue section and outdoor seating beside this modification few additional changes was made like salad bar ,take away food or coffee bar .

The Map campares about few alteration which was done ,at first we can see serving area (where all food and drinks are served ) on image before redesigning of cafe but currently it was demolished and was substituted by Hot meals Apart from this ,Staff dining rooms was also taken down and are redeveloped into Coffee bar and Take away food counter , furthermore salad bar was also added on western side of cafe .

In addition to this Bin was redesigned with Recycling bins on an unchanged location , Moreover Barbecue section with outdoor seating was established with enjoyable setting ,Apart from this Kitchen and Toilet remained on the same location just like Tables and chairs retained their location

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the two plans, noting key changes such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a coffee bar and takeaway counter, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating and a barbecue. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, although it contains some mechanical phrasing. While all major transformations are identified and compared, the description lacks a more polished structuring of trends, keeping it within the Band 6 level for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is divided into four paragraphs, attempting an overall structure. However, paragraphing is somewhat basic, and progression between ideas can be disjointed. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as 'at first we can see', 'Apart from this', and 'In addition to this Bin was redesigned'. Referencing is generally clear, but punctuation errors (such as missing spaces before commas and missing periods at the end of sentences) disrupt the smooth flow of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary relevant to the task, using words like 'remodelling', 'substitute', 'demolished', and 'redeveloped'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling errors, such as 'illustriate' instead of 'illustrate', 'collage' instead of 'college', 'camparisons' instead of 'comparisons', and 'campares' instead of 'compares'. These errors and occasional inappropriate word choices demonstrate limitations typical of Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are recurrent errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'The map illustriate', 'few additional changes was made', and 'Map campares about few alteration which was done'. Furthermore, capitalization and punctuation are poorly handled throughout the essay, with multiple sentences lacking terminal punctuation and containing erratic comma splices. This places the performance firmly at Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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